LOCATION: St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada; Atlantic Ocean
DURATION: 10 Days (8 at sea)
AVAILABILITY: Available now
REQUIRED TRAINING: See below
OceanGate Expeditions is in the process of conducting a series of crewed submersible survey missions to the wreck of the RMS Titanic in order to fully document and model the wreck site. This longitudinal survey to collect images, videos, laser, and sonar data will allow objective assessment of the rate of decay and documentation of the process.
Expeditions will depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland with scientists, content experts, and mission specialists joining the crew in a series of week-long missions. The ~40 person expedition crew includes submersible pilots, operations crew, content experts, and nine citizen explorers known as Mission Specialists. Qualified individuals join the crew as Mission Specialists, helping to underwrite the expedition and actively assisting the team aboard the submersible and the ship in roles such as communications, navigation, sonar operation, photography, and dive planning.
DAY 1: Arrive in St. John’s, Newfoundland and stay overnight onshore.
DAY 2: Board the expedition vessel in the morning and begin the 380 nautical mile steam to the dive site. Participate in ship safety drills, vessel orientation and dive operations training. Settle into life aboard the vessel and enjoy evening talks by onboard experts.
DAY 3: Arrive onsite where the RMS Titanic sank. Receive continued hands-on training, and actively participate in dive preparations.
DAY 4: Dive Team 1 – Descend for 2.5 hours in clear blue water and spend the next 4-5 hours exploring the historic wreck. Gather photos, video, and other scientific data before ascending back to the surface.
Day 5: Dive Team 2 – The second dive will continue the wreck survey and add to the data collected by the first dive team.
Day 6: Contingency or additional dive day.
Day 7: Contingency or additional dive day.
Day 8: Contingency or additional dive day.
Day 9: Steam back to St. John’s and celebrate the successful mission. Enjoy additional expert presentation and entertainment by the expedition team.
Day 10: Arrive in St. John’s and disembark.
Mission Specialist: Join the expedition as a paying crew member.
Sponsorship: Sponsor an individual or group experience.
Required training: Completion of a 14-hour in-house training course at OceanGate Expeditions or participation in a prior OceanGate Expeditions Mission
All expedition participants must meet the following requirements:
- Able to live aboard ship at sea for up to one week
- Able to board small boats (Zodiacs) in rough seas
- Have a valid passport and can enter Canada
- Be at least 18 years old when the mission begins
- Comfortable in dynamic environments
Titan Submersible
Titan, the world’s only 5-person crewed submersible capable of reaching 4,000 meters (13,124 feet), will be used for the duration of the Titanic Survey Expedition. Ushering in a new era of deep-sea exploration, Titan is making it possible for individuals, researchers, and scientists to observe our planet’s most valuable resources from an entirely new perspective. Constructed of titanium and carbon fiber, the innovative vessel designed with NASA provides a safe and comfortable space proven to withstand the enormous pressures present at the extreme depths of the ocean. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, Titan provides an unrivaled view of the deep ocean. The crew will use Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 Gyro-USBL Underwater Tracking, Dynamic Position and Telemetry system to communicate with the topside support vessel throughout the dive. In addition to its large viewport, Titan’s exterior cameras provide a constant live view of the outside environment. Crew members can access each external camera view from within the submersible on a large onboard display or crew tablet. With the click of a button, Mission Specialists can select a camera, monitor the sonar, or view preloaded images of deep-sea species, and the Titanic as they experience an entirely foreign world that only a handful of people have had the privilege to experience.
Throughout the dive, crew members have the option to rotate seating positions, as well as take turns stretching out. The breathable air onboard the sub is recycled in a manner similar to that used aboard spacecraft. Regardless of the dive depth, the air pressure inside the submersible remains constant and equal to the one atmosphere of pressure we experience at sea level, eliminating the need for decompression during the ascent.
The use of Titan for the Titanic Survey Expedition is a monumental milestone in our innovative effort to open the oceans to a wider universe of explorers and scientists.
Submersible Safety: commercial and research manned submersibles are one of the safest vehicle types in the world. In the last 35 years, over 15 million people have dived in non-military manned submersibles – all without a serious injury. OceanGate submersibles carry almost 4 days of life support for the crew of five, plus multiple emergency recovery systems and backups. Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) and helmets are required during all transfers to and from the submersible and while on the submersible platform. All full-time crew members have a current first aid training certificate, some full-time crew have emergency medical training.
Laser
Laser technology uses light beams to survey objects over short distances of approximately 10 meters to capture high resolution point cloud data. Using 2G Robotics hardware and software the crew will conduct laser scans while the sub is in motion and capture ‘top down’ and side views of the wreck and debris field. As more data is collected, each piece will be added and stitched to reveal a 3D skeleton of the wreck site evolve into a complete view. Using the model, we can identify sections of the wreck that are not fully imaged and then target those areas on subsequent dives.
Sonar
Teledyne BlueView sonar hardware and equipment will be used for navigation and obstacle recognition. Throughout each dive, multibeam 2D sonar will be used to locate objects up to 300 meters away to aid in navigation – even in conditions with low to zero visibility.
Photography
Using SubC Imaging’s externally mounted Rayfin 4K camera and 40,000 lumens of multiple deep sea lights, we will capture images of the wreck and debris field at this resolution. The team will then use these images to create a photo mosaic of the wreck by overlaying the images onto the 3D digital skeleton created from laser scans resulting in a photographic quality 3D model.
The Titanic Survey Expedition will conduct an annual scientific and technological survey of the wreck with a mission to:
Create a detailed 3D model of the shipwreck and portions of the debris field using the latest multi-beam sonar, laser scanning and photographic technology.
Supplement the work done on past scientific expeditions to capture data and images that are missing from the scientific record.
Document the condition of the wreck with 4K quality photographs and video. Document the marine life inhabiting the wreck site and compare against data collected on prior scientific expeditions to better assess changes in the habitat as the shipwreck decays.
During the mission, Mission Specialists will receive training and hands-on coaching for the following dive roles: sonar operation, photography, communications, observation, navigation, laser scanning, as well as the following support vessel roles: submersible service, dive image review, sonar analysis, dive planning, science support, and communications / tracking.
